Selling A Stamp Collection

One manís trash is another manís treasure. I am sure you have heard this time worn words of wisdom. This can apply to you if you inherited a stamp collection from a relative. Of course the whole collection could consist of common stamps that have little value. However, the collection could contain some rare stamps that other collectorís would be more than happy to acquire. It all depends on how the collection was put together.
The first move you need to do is assess the value of the collection. You need to look for the indicators for high and low value. Start by visiting any local stamp clubs in your area. If there are no clubs available in your local, you will have to do the research yourself.
The first thing you need to do is to determine if large sums of money were spent to collect stampís to the collection. This is very important because many stamp collections get sold for less than the entire collection is worth due to the sellerís lack of knowledge. Also check out how much effort was put into building the collection if possible.
Be on the lookout for any ďphilatelic literatureĒ that may come with the collection. Serious stamp collectors always use various types of stamp literature to use as an aid to building their collection. Philatelic books can also be sold on the used book market.
Check out the collection for covers with old stamps that are in good condition. Covers are defined as the contents of these envelopes. Covers are regularly seen as being more valuable than the actual stamps so do not remove the stamps as well as the contents of these envelopes.
Evaluate the collection for specialized stamps or stamps coming from a single country. a specialized stamp collection that comes from a single country is worth more than a general collection built upon world stamps. Try to determine what period the stamps are from. Stamps that belong to a later date can carry a higher value while more recent stamps have little or no real value. Try to determine if the collection has any rare stamps in it. Also check to see if the stamps are very common types.

After you have assessed the stamps value, you need to decide how to sell the stamps. There are many ways you can do this. You can sell the stamps at a local stamp club, sell the collection to a stamp dealer, or sell the stamps online.
In order to sell the collection to a stamp dealer, you need to find the right dealer. Donít sell the collection to the first local dealer you find listed in the Yellow Pages. Here again you need to do some research on your own. If the collection is worth a lot, you really need to put some time and effort into getting the best offer for it.

You could sell the collection at an online auction like eBay or a similar type online auction. Also check out various stamp magazines, as they often have a classified section where dealers and collectors advertise to buy stamp collections. The most important aspect of selling an inherited collection is to assess the collectionís value. without doing this you are only going to get cheated out of the collectionís true value.